Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has cancelled a publicity tour of Germany amid fears for his safety following the murder of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink.
Hanser Verlag, Pamuk's German publisher, confirmed that the celebrated author had called off a string of book readings in Hamburg, Cologne and Stuttgart. He was also due to receive an honourary degree at Berlin's Free University on Friday.
Fears for Pamuk's safety are running high. Last week, Yasin Hayal, the man who police say has confessed to orchestrating Dink's murder, issued what appeared to be a direct threat to the novelist. "Orhan Pamuk, be smart! Be smart!" he called to journalists as he was being taken to an Istanbul courtroom by police. Police are investigating whether his words constitute a threat to the novelist, something that could lead to Hayal's prosecution.
Both Pamuk and Dink have been the focus of controversy in Turkey after talking openly about the mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century. They have been accused of the crime of "insulting Turkishness".
Pamuk is famed for novels such as Snow and My Name is Red and won the Nobel prize for literature in 2006. His publisher said there were no immediate plans to reschedule the trip to the Germany where Pamuk has a large readership, partly because of the country's sizable Turkish community.
Dink's assassination earlier this month has prompted an outpouring of outrage at home and abroad. Within Turkey it has sparked fierce debate about excessive nationalism and freedom of expression.
